The wording of the tweet I read was a bit ambiguous, but OWE (the Chinese promotion AEW is working with) have either invested $30 million into AEW or have received $30 million of extra funding themselves from outside parties. Either way, the announcement of this relationship has made someone $30 million.

The Meltz is apparently now reporting on the Styles/AEW speculation. I don't think this really changes the likelihood of whether or not Styles considers jumping, but it's now a story that is floating out there, I guess.

Honestly, given how much I, as a wrestling fan, hate the WWE product, I would consider signing with AEW for five years if the money was good enough that I knew I wouldn't need to work for Vince again. Just saying.

If they're willing to shell out for a special attraction for Double or Nothing, I'd strongly consider giving Big Dave a call. He'd been frustrated about WWE not bringing him in for a program for years, his planned Hunter match for WM is evidently cancelled, and he's tight with Jericho.

Jim Ross on the AEW Double or Nothing rally: “I watched it all from start to finish. I thought that the message that the new promotion wanted to tell was told. In other words, the validation that this is a real entity and another global wrestling brand will develop over time thanks to the Khan Family is a reality, so I thought that it tied a bow around everything and there’s no more speculation. There’s no more this or that. It’s a matter of reality. It’s real, so I thought that was very good. I thought that the presentation, by and large, was entertaining to the degree that the close of the event with Chris Jericho was outstandingly booked. It was well placed, well produced, if you will, whatever your term might be, because Jericho was the biggest star on the show!” Ross explained, “I’m not knocking anybody! It’s just that Jericho is the longest tenured global star that appeared on that presentation. End of story! So I thought that was a great way to end it. He’ll be a great asset, no doubt, in any role that he’s put in. I don’t see Chris being on a weekly television show every week though. He’s just that kind of guy. He likes to do a lot of different things. He has varied interests and that includes his band and other projects that he’s working on.”

Jim Ross with his thoughts on the presentation for the rally: “I enjoyed the presentation. I thought it was nice. They introduced everybody. It looks like Cody’s the guy that’s going to ramrod the single [male] wrestlers. The Bucks I’m sure will oversee, to some degree, the tag teams. And apparently, Brandi Rhodes is going to oversee the women.” Ross continued, “So there’s a plan coming about and I respect the commitment of the Khan Family. I know that this company is not going to run out of money tomorrow. They’re not going to have a problem getting the ring to the next town. It’s all going to work out real well. I’m being facetious here. I’m sure that other talents… this is like recruiting in college [athletics]. When you sign a five-star recruit out of high school, and you sign him early in football, for example, then you find out that one of your star players becomes one of your best recruiters. And others in the star player’s world of high school football, graduating, and going to college, they become very interested in what their buddies are doing. So that’s kind of what I see in this scenario, talents who are not happy in one regard, for one reason or the other, usually because of one of the two Cs, and occasionally both of the two Cs, meaning cash and creative, so some of those people I’m sure will be making inroads or inquiring about getting a jersey for the AEW team.”

Jim Ross on Tony Khan speaking on how wins and losses will be emphasized in AEW: “They’re telling me in wrestle-speak that wins and losses are going to matter, then it tells me they’re going back to a retro presentation where it’s more of an athletic event, but drama, timely comedy, bigger-than-life personalities, but above all, amazing athletes doing amazing things in the process of structuring a pro wrestling match. That’s what I got out of ‘wins and losses are going to mean something.’ Ross noted, “it meant a lot more than that one short statement.”

“They have a challenging scenario, in my opinion, where you have active talents involved in the administration, the booking, and all the creative because generally it creates, or can create an area of discomfort for some talents that don’t have the confidence that they’re not getting the attention they need, the good old boy system, or ‘he’s buddies with this guy and he’s buddies with that guy’ or whatever. Whatever. That’s going to be interesting to see how those younger guys in administration make that happen. I’m not saying you can’t because you can. They’re all smart guys and I think they’ll all be fair and objective. But they’re going to find out sooner than later when you start making creative decisions that effect somebody, and wins and losses, again, are going to be significant again, then people are going to learn how to take some losses, so the only thing I’d tell those guys is learn how to lose.” Ross said, “no, really, there’s an art form in that!”

I'm reading between the lines here, but listen to what JR isn't saying. There's no skepticism or overt criticism of anything they're doing. He's clarifying things that would be speculative if he were speculating (who is heading up what and that they will be going to a more retro philosophy). He's kind of hinting at the recruiting strategy behind hiring a guy like Chris Jericho. He's endorsing the bookers while giving advice to the talent.

It was rumored right from the start, but I do think that JR will be "All In" later this year.

CIMA, El Lindaman, Takehiro Yamamura and T-Hawk have been added to the AEW roster page. Who knows if that is from people who know and is deliberate or just fans editing? BJ Whitmer has quietly been sitting in a producer position there since before the rally too. Could be more fabrication, but you'd think someone would be monitoring the AEW page.

It seems a lot more "focused" and purposeful than a lot of the flippy shit I see on independents, where they seem to lose sight of the goal that they are supposed to be wrestling each other. Like, I can suspend my disbelief enough that I can imagine a dude who can do kung fu trying to use it in a wrestling match. It's when things get overly co-operative and all psychology is lost that I personally zone out.

Tony Khan is definitely going to need to get better at not responding to negative tweets from fans after AEW kicks off. Even if it's a big hit, there will absolutely be people who say offensive things about it.

The wording of the tweet I read was a bit ambiguous, but OWE (the Chinese promotion AEW is working with) have either invested $30 million into AEW or have received $30 million of extra funding themselves from outside parties. Either way, the announcement of this relationship has made someone $30 million.

So AEW can do business with our greatest enemy without repute but WWE gets shit on for doing business with an ally?

Tony Khan is definitely going to need to get better at not responding to negative tweets from fans after AEW kicks off. Even if it's a big hit, there will absolutely be people who say offensive things about it.

Well he has said that Japan and TNA "don't count" in the better wrestler threads, so you may be on to something.

I don't think I've said anything different than I'm a lifetime WWE fan. NJPW needs time to develop a real fanbase in the USA that isn't just diehard fans. They are a well rounded company but the loss of so much American talent will hurt their expansion greatly. They and ROH were foolish in lending talent to All In.

AEW seems just geared to the hardcore fans. I don't think anybody other than fans of Cody and the Young Bucks will give a shit.

Tony Khan is definitely going to need to get better at not responding to negative tweets from fans after AEW kicks off. Even if it's a big hit, there will absolutely be people who say offensive things about it.

That's fair if he does get carried away with it, but he might just be "picking his spots." Standing up for yourself in the right circumstances can be good for your public image.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlickyTrickyDamon

So AEW can do business with our greatest enemy without repute but WWE gets shit on for doing business with an ally?

Normally I defend you, but this is just a joke.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito

Iíll never understand rooting against the idea of there being other places for wrestlers to viably make a living.

Well, I can understand wanting promotions like TNA to fold so that the talent worth a damn can get out of their contracts and go somewhere that will benefit the wrestling industry. But rooting against actual promotions that could be good? I'm with you there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlickyTrickyDamon

Why? They only have talent that have marginal appeal.

Their logo has been out there for two weeks, dude. Chris Jericho is a huge get. We'll see if they do work something out with Goldberg and Jim Ross. That's not marginal appeal. Besides, even if they decide to market themselves with guys that aren't known yet, the key word there is "yet." WWE, given how cold that company is, doesn't have anyone that would be that widely recognized in 2019.

* There was no truth behind JR and Jericho starting AEW when those rumors popped up.

* Vince emailed Jericho about it when he first heard those rumors. So yeah, Vince cares.

* Life changes and life on the other side of WWE woke him up to the possibilities and getting the biggest offer of his career "by far." He "couldn't say no."

* Jericho is signed with AEW for three years.

* He doesn't sound too fussed about ending his career in WWE.

* Jericho talked to Vince before jumping. "Business is business" and he'd be stupid to have turned down AEW's offer to avoid upsetting someone, and Vince understands that better than anyone.

* You go up and down, up and down, up and down in this business as far as being a main eventer goes -- especially if you stay in the same place.

* He's not fussed about going into the WWE Hall of Fame either. He said it would be a huge honor, but he'd consider not showing up ala Guns 'n' Roses.

* You don't have to worry about being in a box. You have to move to stay happy, to stay motivated. He wouldn't sign with AEW for the money to be miserable. The money is great, but he's excited about this.

Reading between the lines of this interview, Jericho is talking to WWE talent. He really took aim at the WWE's schedule and seems to be winking about the money, the miles and the creative of WWE.

The Khan's have vast production and advertising experience and the show might have a different look and feel than WWE or ALL-IN.

It would be like writing off the NWA transforming to WCW back in the 80's because "they just have Ric Flair, who cares". WCW made a ton of new stars. I agree new fans are needed, but that applies to all of wrestling, including WWE, for it survive into the future.

WWE are also closer to promoting an "indy style" than they've ever been. Love it or hate it. Look at who their top full-time stars are. They've got Mustafa Ali as a focal point of SmackDown at the moment, haha.